


Holding On to Me (And Letting Go of You)

by BlackWolf105



Series: Barely Holding On at All [2]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, Root - Character Study, Sad but not sad?, introspective, its complicated, there are feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27320368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackWolf105/pseuds/BlackWolf105
Summary: Barbara didn’t recognize the woman, which in and of itself was unusual – she knew everyone in Bishop, had for years, and the only strangers to ever pass through its dusty city limits were during game season which had come and gone for the year./**Basically, it's a Root character study.
Relationships: (background) Root | Samantha Groves/Sameen Shaw
Series: Barely Holding On at All [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996453
Comments: 11
Kudos: 45





	Holding On to Me (And Letting Go of You)

**Author's Note:**

> This is why I shouldn't write fic at 12:30 at night.  
> Title was inspired by Broken by Lifehouse, which is the sort of general vibe of this fic.

Sunlight filtered through the dusty, dirty windows, illuminating the lone figure moving about through the Bishop Public Library. Barbara Russell was just putting the last of the recently checked-in books away before making her way home. The wood creaked slightly under their weight as she placed them on the shelves.

The last of the library’s patrons had left a few minutes before, leaving the librarian the last one in the old stone building; in all respects, it was a normal night. Which is why she found herself pausing slightly in surprise as she rounded the corner towards the front desk to find a young woman standing in front of it.

Barbara didn’t recognize the woman, which in and of itself was unusual – she knew everyone in Bishop, had for years, and the only strangers to ever pass through its dusty city limits were during game season which had come and gone for the year.

Stepping up behind the counter, Barbara cleared her throat, “Excuse me, can I help you?”

The woman looked up, slightly startled, like she hadn’t realized anyone was there. In an instant, Barbara had the strangest feeling that she should know her, but for the life of her couldn’t put a name to the face. The stranger gave a small smile, her gaze drifting once more down to her hands; Barbara hadn’t noticed the small, thin book being turned gently over and over between them. “No, sorry. I’m not from around here; just passing through.”

“We don’t get many people just passing through this time of year. Where are you headed?”

The woman glanced up once more, her gaze strangely intense. “New York City.”

Barbara’s eyebrows raised. “And you’re passing through Bishop?”

The surprise was clearly evident in her voice if the woman’s small laugh was any indication. “Made a bit of a detour. Heard you had the best library around; guess I wanted to see it for myself.”

Barbara was surprised. The Bishop Public Library _was_ somewhat famous around these parts, but it definitely wasn’t because it was _good_. “Really? Who’d you hear that from?”

The woman looked down for a moment, her hands turning the book over and over. “An old friend who used to live here.”

Barbara tilted her head, that strange feeling of recognition still gnawing away at her. “Really? Who?”

The woman smiled to herself, small and sad. “Her name was Sam.”

“Sam?” This time Barbara knew she couldn’t keep the surprise of her voice. “Samantha Groves? You know her?”

The woman let out a sigh, looking back up at Barbara; the older woman watched as the smile on her face turned bittersweet. “A long time ago.”

Barbara frowned, getting the distinct impression she was missing something. “Did something… happen?” Despite the years that had passed and… everything that had happened between them, she felt a strange pull in her chest at the thought of something happening to that shy, sweet girl.

The woman let out a half laugh. “No. We just…” she trailed off, gaze falling from Barbara’s once more. “Lost touch. For a little while.”

“Oh.” Barbara nodded slowly. “I’m sorry.” The words felt insincere in the older woman’s mouth, but she really didn’t know what else to say.

“Don’t be.” The woman shrugged, almost to herself. “It happens to the best of us.”

“Well, do you know if she’s doing alright?” Barbara had to admit, she was rather curious about what Sam Groves might be up to these days.

The woman paused, her hands stilling for a moment on the book for the first time. The silence stretched between the two women before, with an air of finality, the stranger nodded, slowly but surely. “Yeah, I think she is.”

Barbara nodded, the conversation dissipating like the rapidly fading sunlight in the old building, the shelves and books casting shadows across the floor and face of the woman in front of her. Soon the only sound in the building was of the quietly creaking shelves.

“Root?” Both women looked up as the silence shattered around them. Barbara looked towards the door, where a second stranger stood, door held open behind her and a faintly annoyed and bored expression on her face. “Are you coming or what? I want to be back in New York by Wednesday, and I’m not above leaving you here.”

The woman in front of the desk blinked slowly, a small, genuine smile creeping across her features. “Be right there.”

With an exaggerated sigh and unreadable look cast their way, the stranger turned and left without a word.

Barbara frowned; her mind stuck on the first word from the stranger’s mouth. A unusual name, Root, but one that sparks a odd feeling of recognition.

The woman let out a quiet sigh as the door closed with a click which echoed in the empty space. “Well, I suppose that means I better be on my way.” With one last look at the book in her hands, the woman placed it on the desk in front of Barbara; without thinking, she reached out and picked it up. 

The stranger gave one last smile and turned away. 

Reaching the door, she paused for a moment, hand resting on the bar. There was a tension in the air that hadn’t been there moments before; thick and sweltering like a summer heat.

Turning to look back to Barbara, the stranger stared for a moment, an unreadable expression in her eyes. Barbara met her gaze, confused, as the woman stared back, searching for something in the older woman’s eyes, though what, Barbra wasn’t sure.

Then she blinked, and Barbara found that she looked sadder than before; yet somehow, not. “She was right, you know.”

“What?” Barbara breathed, her voice barely carrying across the chasms of space.

The woman nodded towards her hands. “It really is quite good.”

Blinking, Barbara stared after the woman as the door closed behind her; a strange feeling settled in the older woman’s stomach. Almost disquieting, and too much like dread.

Glancing down at the book, her breath caught in her throat. The book slipped from her hands as one rose to cover her mouth, the other steadying the older woman against the desk as she looked towards the door, tears in her eye’s: _Flowers for Algernon_ the only words running through her mind.

*-*-*

Root leaned back, her breath easing itself from her lungs as she watched the clouds rolling in the sky above as Shaw pulled smoothly out onto the highway.

“You find what you were looking for?” The words broke through the still air; Shaw’s tone was blunt, harsh almost, but Root found the familiarity of it comforting.

She smirked, her head tilting almost instinctively towards the woman beside her. “Who said I was looking for something?”

Shaw didn’t answer; her gaze fixed straight ahead onto the endless road, lit only by the headlights in front of them and the moon and stars above.

Root let out a sigh and turned to look out the window, into the shadows swallowing the small car. 

The silence drug on, filling the air around the two women; but unlike in the library, this silence was comfortable rather than tense.

“No,” Root spoke with a finality she didn’t know she had. Shaw didn’t respond, but somehow, Root didn’t mind. She nodded, mostly to herself, although she could feel Shaw’s eyes on her as she tore her gaze from the inky fields surrounding them. “I’m not sure it was ever really there.”

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, this is just a platform for me to try and explore my own thoughts and ideas about Root and her relationship with and to Samantha Groves. It also serves for me to give Root some of the closure I feel she didn't get in the show when it came to Barbara and what happened between them.
> 
> I won't bore you with a giant end note about all of this, but if anyone if interested you can let me know in the comments, or hit me up on tumblr (blackwolf-105; be warned though, I don't use social media often so no promises I'll see it).  
> As always, kudos and comments are always loved and appreciated!


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